Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick at odds with Gov. Abbott, House speaker over property tax relief
DALLAS - Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says the governor and speaker are holding property tax relief hostage.
Patrick is traveling the state to make his case, stopping Thursday in Dallas. He says they refuse to compromise on how best to provide tax relief to homeowners.
The lieutenant governor is taking his argument to the people for the Senate version of property tax relief, which raises the homestead exemption to $100,000 for everyone versus the House property tax bill that hinges on compression, lowering school district tax rates.
And to prove his point, Patrick uses the example of the most expensive home in Texas right now for sale at $65 million. That home would get a bigger tax break than average homeowners.
AUSTIN, TX - MAY 18:(Photo by Lynda M. Gonzalez-Pool/Getty Images)
"$176,000 tax cut under the House plan. And under the House plan, the average Texas homeowner in a $300,000 home gets a $700 tax cut," he said. "That’s the difference that I and the Senate are fighting for the average Texas homeowner."
Patrick says the Senate bill would give homeowners a better break, but Speaker Dade Phelan, the House and the governor oppose the Senate plan.
"I don’t like to be in a fight with the House or the governor, but we're not going to take money out of the pocket of the average Texan and give it to the wealthiest Texans and give it to big business," he said. "We're not going to do that."
Gov. Abbott has criticized the Senate plan, saying any bill that does not work toward the goal of eliminating key parts of the property tax system is wasting money.
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Texas House 'gave the bird' to homeowners by refusing to negotiate property tax plan, Lt. Gov. Patrick said
The Texas House and Senate are in a standoff over the best way to offer property tax relief.
The author of the Senate property tax bill is Houston Republican Paul Bettencourt.
And what caught Patrick's attention is that Abbott already vetoed several other Senate bills filed by Bettencourt, including one from Dallas County DA John Cruezot that would increase penalties for gasoline thefts.
"This is targeted vetoing of bills that have nothing to do with the issue at hand, except Paul Bettencourt is the author of those bills," Patrick said.
Sunday is the last day to sign or veto bills. The House passed its own version of property tax reform on the first day of the special session and adjourned.
"So the House members and Dade Phelan, they need to get their butts back to work in Austin," Patrick said. "There's a Sunday deadline by the governor. You need to get back there. We need to negotiate this bill."
Phelan, through a staffer’s email, said "the Texas Senate is the only chamber that has not passed property tax reform… in a way that is germane to Governor Abbott's special session call. The Senate is the one keeping Texas waiting."
"We want a $100,000 homestead exemption because it’s the biggest break for homeowners. We're not going to back down from that," Patrick said.
Dan Patrick says he is not moving anymore on property tax relief.
Phelan says the House has done its work as well.